Is Unikrn considering an entry into the German e-sports market?

Observers of the eSports market speculated this week that UK and Australian-licensed eSports betting operator Unikrn may be eyeing Germany as its next market following news that the company has invested an unspecified amount in the German professional eSports player team BIG.

They point to the confused legal situation in Germany, which may make access easier, along with the nation’s taste for gambling, the popularity of eSports and a relatively affluent population, allied to Unikrn’s need to maintain momentum in real-money operations.

In a company tweet, CEO Rahul Sood commented: “We are not only partnering up with BIG, we are actually investing in them. We want to create value for the team but at the same time we are completely hands-off when it comes to the daily operation or anything roster related. And we support them through financial backing and business development.”

Unikrn is into both real-money and social sports betting internationally and uses its own virtual currency – Unikoin – as well as fiat currencies. The company confines its real-money activity to the UK and Australian markets, where it is licensed via Luxbet, a Tabcorp subsidiary which provides the regulated real money platform for Unikrn’s eSports wagering business.

With a relatively affluent population of 82 million in total, Germany is regarded as a market with considerable eSports potential, and Unikrn will have been encouraged by recent independent Eilers & Krejcik Gaming research that revealed real money eSports betting has the potential to generate revenues of around $10 million by 2020 (see previous report). The numbers of German eSports fans are growing rapidly, and recent live events have attracted large online and live audiences.

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